Valen Strike
Appearance Valen has an average body frame with lightly tanned white skin with short dark brown hair that sticks out in the back. His eyes are the color brown and his face is always clean shaven. Valen stands at 5'9 and through the result of constant training has a honed physic. For clothing he prefers a plain pair of blue jeans with a grey T-shirt worn under a blue over shirt. Concealed underneath his shirt he wears an arrowhead worn as a necklace, a constant reminder of a promise made to live and return safely. Depending on the weather he may also sport a plain black jacket and blue sunglasses. He always carries the sunglasses with him. He wears his sword sheathed on his left hip. Personality Valen is a relatively easy going person. Unless it's important he prefers to take things at his own pace, letting others do the worrying while he relaxes and observes. However when the time for action does arrive, he has a tendency to act somewhat recklessly. He'll listen to planning or try to scope out a situation, but he prefers to think on his feet. He has a sarcastic sense of humor. He enjoys prodding others in good humor, usually stopping short of actually insulting them unless they have done something to anger/annoy him. Valen has a code of honor that states he avoid killing his opponents unless necessary, as well as personally avoiding tactics such as using poison. Although he won't stop others from doing those actions themselves. It also compels him to help others when innocents are being harmed or abused, usually by taking down the abuser/attacker. While he typically doesn't hesitate to act in his own interests, Valen will never willingly act in a manner to harm innocent people or engage in vile acts such as torture. However when angered, Valen is more than willing to utilize intimidation and ruthlessness to undermine others. As he spent the majority of his life training as a swordsman, Valen views attacks to an opponent's back shameful and will avoid attacking in such a manner. As a result of The Battle of Shimotsuki, Valen's motivation to train his swordsmanship was transformed. What was once a passionate hobby became a full blown drive to become stronger. When given the opportunity, Valen is content to spend entire days ceaselessly training his body and honing his techniques. Though he does strive to restrain himself enough to socialize and maintain his nutrition. Combined with his drive to improve himself, Valen also has a strong desire to fight. Any chance to face a strong opponent is hard for him to ignore as it is both a chance to test himself and to validate his efforts. Though if he has something more important to do, he will postpone or delay the fight until it is more appropriate unless forced. When faced with a weaker opponent, Valen will use intimidation to dissuade them from fighting. If they continue, he has no qualms about swiftly overwhelming them with superior force unless he has a personal reason not to fight them, in which case he'll try to avoid the fight entirely. Fighting Style Valen originally relied on a form of Two Sword Style, however after leaving Shimotsuku he decided to practice his One Sword Style to increase his physical power rather than rely solely on his agility. With his Nitoryu, Valen prefers to hit his opponents fast and hard, delivering powerful attacks with impressive speed. However with Ittoryu he focuses more on power, though his agility is often incorporated to increase the force of his attacks and make them harder to counter. Valen has a code of honor that prevents him from actively killing his foes. When dealing the final blow, Valen will always try and hold back just enough for his opponent to survive. Although when necessary, such as when an opponent is too dangerous to remain alive, or when Valen is sufficiently enraged, he will not hold back and will attack his opponent with full force. A year before the Battle of Shimotsuki, Valen discovered a technique to harness his energy to manifest auras as well as increase his own strength while attacking. Named the Demon Sword Style after the demonic aura it creates, this style focuses on fully unleashing Valen's aggression and drive to win. While his defense suffers when using this style, his offensive power increases greatly but it produces a large strain on his body, making it difficult for Valen to sustain for long. As a result Valen only resorts to using his Demon Sword Style when faced with a strong adversary and usually as a means to end a fight quicker. Another disadvantage of the Demon Sword Style is that to use it, Valen must become absolutely focused on his target, relying more on his reflexes to deal with outside factors than conscious thought. History Born on August 3rd, Valen grew up on Shimotsuki Island in a small village near the mountains. From a young age he desired to become a swordsman as his father and uncle had been and by the age of 8 had successfully enrolled in the village dojo. At age 11 he fought off a gang of bandits attempting to kidnap Mia, a young girl and resident of the village with a reputation of being the best shot on the island. Having earned her gratitude, Mia stubbornly refused to leave his side. Eventually he relented and the two became friends. The following years were spent mostly by further honing his skills, as well as learning the basics to serve as a blacksmith so that he could maintain and create new swords as both a living and necessity alongside his cousin, Richard. He also became closer to Mia as they grew older and she often served as a calming influence during his more reckless adventures on the island. When Valen was 19, the village was attacked by a vicious pirate crew. Both Valen and Mia briefly participated in what would eventually be known as the Battle of Shimotsuki before being forced to take shelter in the nearby mountains. Eventually Valen returned to the village after ensuring Mia's safety. Learning his parents had been killed in his absence and his cousin Victor heavily wounded trying to protect them, Valen went on a rampage leading all the way to the pirates lead vessel. Battling the captain of the crew who had attacked his home, Valen was defeated. His swords shattered and his body nearly cleaved in two by a vicious sword slash, Valen barely escaped with his life by falling into the water below. The next day he was found washed up on shore by Mia, who with the help of the remaining villagers helped stabilize his condition with emergency treatment. After awakening a week later, Valen continued to nurse his wounds as he contemplated the events of the battle, and his next course of action. After much thought, Valen decided to become a bounty hunter, both in the hope that he'll eventually track down and capture the pirates responsible for the attack, and that he could potentially prevent other islands from suffering a similar fate as his hometown. The opportunity to avenge his family and his own defeat lent further motivation to his decision. However the hardest part of his decision was telling Mia. She stubbornly insisted she come along, citing Valen's tendency for recklessness as her reason for joining. Valen however, refused to let her endanger herself like that, explaining that the guilt would tear him apart if she were harmed and instead promised to return home safe when he had accomplished his goal. However Mia refused and made it clear that she would follow him if he left, forcing Valen to reluctantly allow her to join him as he set out to sea the next day to begin his quest to punish those responsible for attacking his home. Before leaving, Valen's cousin Richard forged him two new swords using the last materials he had left after his stores were raided, making Valen swear that he put them to good use. He named the swords "Seeker" and "Striker" before passing them into Valen's care. Themes File:Premonition of a Storm| File:Spirited Swordsman Zoro Extended|Ignited File:222 Yuusei no Jin|Strike Sortie File:Sword Art Online Music Extended - Stand at Bay|Determination File:SN Realta Nua - Two Kings (Futari no Ou)|The Demon Sword Category:Characters Category:East Blue Category:Swordsman